


A tale of stalled cars and mountain thunderstorms

by Zoa



Series: The Reylo Tales: My Collection of Reylo One-Shots [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Mountain Man Ben, Reylo Prompt, Tumblr Prompt, because who wouldn't want a flannel wearing poetry writing tree of a man, borrowed elements from paterson, oh no rey got lost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23355631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoa/pseuds/Zoa
Summary: I got a wonderful prompt on tumblr by a - truly lovely - anon and this was the result!
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: The Reylo Tales: My Collection of Reylo One-Shots [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1691227
Comments: 24
Kudos: 56





	A tale of stalled cars and mountain thunderstorms

Rey’s car stalled halfway up the mountain. And now here she was, trudging along a deserted highway, thunder rumbling overheard and lightning making her flinch. The air was thick with the promise of rain. 

Rose had planned a beautiful wedding at the scenic Canto Bight Resort and Spa but Rey was probably going to die under a mudslide or get eaten by a wolf or something. And it was dark and getting darker. Night became an abyss due to the storm that was going to open up over Rey any minute.

She wouldn’t have been in this mess if her stupid boss had just given her the day off so she could travel with the rest of the wedding party. But no, Unkar had to be Unkar and be a dick about it. 

The first patters of rain hit the top of Rey’s head and she groaned, checking her phone for the umpteenth time just in case, by some miracle, it had a signal. Nothing. 

Lightning flashed and thunder clapped a few seconds later, alerting Rey that the storm was directly overhead. After about thirty seconds of self-pity, she decided the best course of action to go ahead and retrace her steps back to her car. Maybe she’d be soaked by the time she got back but at least she wouldn’t get electrocuted. 

So she turned. Straight into the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. 

“Hey!” Rey yelped, jumping to the side and flattening herself against the rock face of the mountain.

The truck that had almost hit her screeched to a halt and she watched it reverse so that its headlights were directly on her. Rey raised a hand to her eyes and blinked under the onslaught. She heard a door slam and the silhouette of a person she was pretty sure was the size of a bear appeared in the light.

“Did I hit you?” A deep voice asked, laced with concern. Maybe it was her exhaustion, maybe she’d just finally gone crazy, but that voice did things to her insides.

“Almost.”

The figure took a step forward but Rey still couldn’t see the man who might be her rescuer and took a step back. He stopped. “Are you okay?” he asked

“I’m fine. It’s my fault for being in the middle of the road, anyway.”

She saw his head tilt to the side. “I’m guessing you’re the owner of that car sitting by itself a ways back?” 

“Yeah. It stalled.”

“I figured.” The man looked up as the rain increased its tempo. “If you want I can give you a ride. Either back to your car or… where were you going?”

“Canto Bight Resort.” Rey shifted on her feet. She wasn’t sure about getting into a strange man’s truck but she didn’t like the idea of being alone in a mountain thunderstorm either. “I’m on my way to a wedding.”

Thunder clapped and she jumped. The man moved forward again but Rey took another step back and he halted. 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be too trusting either.” He said wryly. 

“How do I know you’re not some kind of axe murderer? Or worse?” Rey asked, folding her arms over her chest.

She could see the huge outline of his shoulders shrug. “I guess you don’t. But I’m not. I just want to help.”

Rey hesitated. This could either be a funny story she told Rose and the others when she saw them or the end of her life. She didn’t like the 50/50 aspect of the situation. 

The wind picked up and Rey swore she heard rock crumbling back down the road. The man must have heard it, too, because she heard him mumble a low curse. 

“Listen, we need to get in my truck but I want you to feel safe. I have a gun-”

“You have a what now?” Rey squeaked, definitely thinking the odds were swaying in the worse direction now.

He put a hand up. “Calm down. You can have it until we get this sorted out. Do you know how to handle a gun?”

“Yes.” She did. Various life experiences had led her to learn out of necessity. But she didn’t own one. Her answer surprised him, though, from what she could tell from his voice. 

“Huh. Let me get it and I’ll slide it across to you, okay?”

Well, he was either going to shoot her or he was being honest. She didn't really have much of a choice except to see how it all played out. 

“Okay. But if you murder me I’m going to haunt you.”

He laughed, a deep rumbling laugh that raised goosebumps on Rey’s arms, in a good way. 

“I don’t doubt it.” She saw him walk back to his truck and a few seconds later he did as he said, sliding a handgun across the asphalt to her. Rey knelt, one eye on him, to pick it up and checked to see if it was loaded. It was and the safety was on. 

“One point for you.” She said, her anxiety level lowering a bit now that she had a way to defend herself. By this time the rain was falling in earnest and Rey’s light jacket was almost soaked through to her shirt. She slipped the gun in her jacket pocket, took a deep breath, and walked forward to the opposite side of the truck from where he stood. “I’ll get in.”

The cab light was on, thankfully, and when he was done shaking his wet hair out, she finally saw the face of her possible rescuer might-still-be-an-axe-murderer.

He was definitely big, somehow seeming larger in his red flannel shirt. She really didn’t know how he fit in the truck, a fact which should have made Rey more nervous but the rest of his features and the gun in her pocket minimized her worry.

Features like his beautifully asymmetrical face, peppered with moles she couldn’t help wanting to trace. And his mouth. It was unfair that a man had a mouth like that. Full and begging to be kissed and framed by a little scruff. His dark hair hung in wet strands around that bewitching face, just brushing his shoulders, framing brown eyes that were flecked with gold and maybe another color; Rey couldn’t make it out. But she knew that she could stare into them forever. The only thing that cut through the smooth lines of his face was a sharp scar that ran from his right eye - by some stroke of good fortune missing it entirely - down his neck.

“The name’s Ben,” he said, in that voice that was definitely affecting her in ways it shouldn’t. 

Ben. She like that. He was staring at her for some reason and it took Rey a full three seconds before she realized why. 

“Oh, I’m Rey.” She berated herself inwardly for acting stupid. “Um, so how far is it to the resort?”

“I hate to break it to you, Rey, but the resort is on the other side of the mountain.”

“What?” Rey exclaimed. Had she really taken that many wrong turns? “I-I can’t believe this. Tonight is the bachelorette party and I’m going to miss it!” She groaned and buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. 

“I’m sure they’ll understand.” Ben sounded sympathetic. “They’re probably worried about you.”

Rey jolted. “Oh my gosh, you’re right! I need to call! Do you have a phone on you? Mine’s not getting a signal.”

Ben grimaced. “I don’t own a cell phone. But I’ve got a landline at my cabin. I know how it sounds,” he said, responding to Rey’s obvious suspicious scowl. “But I swear I’m not trying to lure you there.”

A low, frustrated growl emanated from Rey’s throat. “I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

He had the decency to look contrite. 

Well, at least if he killed her, he’d be sorry about it.

****

Ben’s cabin wasn’t too far from where he’d found her, but it was off the beaten path a bit, surrounded by a copse of trees that might look ethereal in the daylight. No one would guess a cabin was there if they didn’t know exactly where to find it, which made Rey nervous enough to keep her wits about her.

The building itself was small, with a chimney stack and porch that ran the length of the cabin. No lights were on inside, leading Rey to think he lived alone. 

The storm had not let up one bit since Rey had joined Ben. The opposite. Lightning flashed in dazzling patterns across the sky, volleying thunder down on the earth along with a curtain of rain. 

Ben drove his truck right up to his porch. There wasn’t really a driveway from what Rey could see. 

“We’ll have to make a run for it.” He said, reaching for his door. “Let’s go!”

She jumped out at his signal and made for his porch but despite the run they were both soaked to the bone by the time they made it inside. Rey sighed. Perfect. She didn’t have a change of clothes with her because her suitcase was in her car. 

Rey decided to linger by the door - just in case - while he went inside and turned on the lights. The cabin was, in a word, cozy. It had a small living space that consisted of a couch, a coffee table, and a small dining table in the space between the tiny kitchen and the living room. There was a pot-belly stove in lieu of a fireplace; she guessed the door on the opposite side of the room led to the bedroom. What was weird was that there wasn’t a computer or TV in sight. 

“It’s not much.” Ben looked around from the center of the living room, filling it easily with his own presence. “I don’t usually have guests over.” He frowned as he stared at her, stiff at the door. “Do you still think I’m an axe murderer?”

“No.” Rey cautiously stepped further into the cabin. “But maybe you’re just a regular murderer.”

He grunted and pointed at a black phone hanging on the kitchen wall before opening a drawer and pulling out a phone book. “You can use that. I have the number for the resort here,” he indicated the book, “if you need it. I’m going to change. I promise I won’t come out with an axe.” Rey watched him walk to the door she’d guessed was his room but didn’t move to the phone until he’d shut said door behind him. 

She called Rose and explained the situation. 

“Are you okay? Are you safe? Is this guy okay?” Rose asked, shooting out questions faster than Rey could respond. 

“Yes. Yes. And I think so.” Rey answered. She glanced toward the bedroom. “He’s… something.”

“Wait. Is he hot?”

Rey hesitated, a little guilty for thinking the guy was attractive at the same time she thought he was a psycho. “Maybe.”

“Rey! Did you find a hot lumberjack?”

“He’s not a lumberjack,” Rey retorted. “At least, I don’t think he is. I don’t actually know what he does. Maybe he’s…”

The bedroom door opened to reveal said not-lumberjack with hair brushed away from his face in a dry pair of jeans and a green flannel shirt which was somehow better than the red one and Rey got distracted.

“Radio said the road back down the mountain is washed out,” he announced unceremoniously, as if it wasn’t Rey’s nightmare situation. “We won’t be able to get out until tomorrow.”

Flannel forgotten, Rey groaned and repeated the news to Rose. “I’m so sorry,” she said, on the verge of tears. “I wanted to be there tonight and have fun with you.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. You need to be safe, first and foremost. You’ll be here for the rehearsal tomorrow.” Rose’s voice took on a sly note. “But maybe you can have a little fun with the hot mountain man.”

Rey choked, earning a raised brow from her host and turned her back to him to hide her red face. “Rose.” She hissed only to receive a guffaw in return. “That’s not happening. Anyway. I should let you go and enjoy yourself. I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Okay. Be safe. Love you, girl.” 

A fond smile broke out on Rey’s face. “I will. Love you, too. Bye.”

After she hung up the phone there was a soft cough behind her and she turned to see Ben holding up a folded flannel shirt - blue this time - and a pair of sweatpants. “You can borrow these tonight.” He said, a little gruffly, Rey thought. “So, uh, your clothes can dry.”

A wracking shudder went through her body and Rey remembered that she was cold and wet and probably looked like a drowned cat. Anything warm and dry was a blessing at this point so she met him in the living room and gratefully took the clothes. 

  
“If you want you can take a shower, too.” He cleared his throat and Rey imagined his ears -what she could see through his hair - were tinged pink. “There’re clean towels in there. Through the bedroom on your right.”

Rey nodded. “Thanks,” she murmured. “Um.” Rey blushed again. “Really, thanks.”

He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it.” 

She smiled and, yes, there was definitely a rosy hue on his ears. Rey’s heart did a funny patter and she walked as calmly as she could to the bathroom to avoid doing something stupid. 

****

When she emerged - swimming and feeling a bit too comfortable in Ben’s huge clothes but warm and clean - she smelled something delicious coming from the living room and her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since getting a bag of M&Ms at a gas station. Seven hours ago. 

She followed her nose and was met by the sight of Ben leaning over a pan on the pot-belly stove. 

“You actually use that thing to cook?” She asked, padding into the room and wincing. Her shoes and socks were currently sitting in Ben’s shower along with the rest of her clothes to dry, so the bare wood floor was cold on her feet. Ben looked back and she watched his Adam’s apple bob when he took her in before quickly resuming his position. 

“Yeah.” He replied. “I figured you’d be hungry.”

“Starved.” Rey joined him by the stove and breathed deeply as she peered down at the pasta and meat concoction he was stirring. “What is it?” 

“Uh, Hamburger Helper.” He seemed embarrassed. "I don’t really have much.”

“Hey, that sounds great.” She assured him. “Honestly, I’d probably eat the entire pan if you let me.”

“You can if you want.” Was his simple reply. A small smile lifted Rey’s mouth. He meant it, she could tell. Which made the offer rather sweet. “So,” he added. “Did you manage to get through to your party?”

“Yeah. They were relieved that I’m okay. Is there anything I can do to help?” Rey looked about, swinging her arms a little. 

Ben shook his head, already ladling the food into bowls sitting on the stove. “I’ve got it. Sit down. You’ve got to be tired.” He handed her an almost overflowing bowl and a spoon. 

“Thanks,” Rey murmured. “Oh, by the way, I put your gun on your dresser. I don’t think I need it.” Ben’s shoulders seemed to relax at that and he gave her a nod and a slight smile. She slowly made her way to the dining table - where there were a couple of cups of water already sitting - and sat at one end. He joined her at the opposite side and for awhile they ate in silence. Rey was halfway through her bowl when he spoke again. 

“So, uh, how’d you and your fiancee meet?”

She almost coughed out the mouthful she’d just taken. She quickly took a deep drink of water to swallow down the food. “My what?” she gasped, patting her chest. “I don’t have a fiancee.”

“Oh.” Ben blinked, evidently surprised. “I thought… the wedding… and you told the person on the phone…” he stopped, this time flushing across his face. “Sorry.”

Rey burst into laughter. “Don’t be. It’s my best friend’s wedding. That’s who I was talking to before. Rose. I’m one of her bridesmaids. I’m, um,” she looked at her bowl and stirred her pasta around. “I’m single.” Her eyes flicked up to his and down again. 

“Oh.” Ben repeated and picked at his own food, almost thoughtfully. But there wasn’t any other reaction. Rey didn’t know why she was disappointed.

Over the next few minutes of silence, Rey took the opportunity to look around a bit more, observing a small desk by one of the front windows, covered in paper and pens and books. There was a bookcase, too, stuffed to the edges. When she finished her food, she put the bowl in the kitchen sink and meandered back to the bookcase. 

“I hope you don’t think this is a rude question,” she picked up a book -Crime and Punishment - to idly flip through its pages. “But why are you living out here?”

_Alone?_

Ben was in the kitchen, placing his own dish in the sink. “I needed the quiet.” 

It was such a non-answer answer Rey couldn’t help that her curiosity was piqued. “It must be lonely sometimes,” she murmured, strolling over to the desk. There was a stack of empty pages there and expensive-looking ink pens. “Do you write?” she asked. She didn’t see any marked pages. 

“A little.” He seemed to admit it begrudgingly. 

“What do you write about?” Thunder shook the house and the lights flickered, reminding Rey of the storm outside. “Are the lights going to go out?” she asked, unable to hide the fear that caused her voice to waver. 

“They might.” He frowned, apparently catching her tremble, and joined her at the desk. “The house is on an old generator and in a big stor-”

A bright flash of light blinded Rey and the loudest thunderclap yet that night shook the house and that was when the cabin went dark. Rey inhaled a sharp breath and hid herself against Ben’s broad chest, gripping his shirt in tight fists. 

“Whoa, whoa.” She heard him exclaim, but he gentled nearly immediately and she felt his hands land on her back. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Rey took a few deep breaths, inhaling his scent - woodsy and warm - before she forced herself to take a step back. It was still dark. Even the lightning had disappeared. She struggled to find light anywhere but there was nothing and she’d left her phone in the bathroom. “Okay, I’m not fine.” 

“What can I do?” he asked. 

“Light.” She whispered. “Anything with light.” 

A moment later she heard a lighter click. The little flame was like a beacon of hope and Rey let out a shuddering breath of relief at its presence. The light also revealed Ben’s worried face and Rey took another step back, wrapping her arms around herself. He didn’t make a move, giving her the space she needed. 

“I, um, I’m claustrophobic.” She explained, hating that she had to say it in the first place. “So when it goes pitch black like this…” She swallowed. “I’ve been doing really well, actually. But when I’m stressed it kind of… it gets worse.”

Something like understanding flickered across his face. “I’m sorry. Listen, I’ll go out and-”

“No, please!” Rey’s heart did a jump start at the thought of being alone in the dark. “I don’t want to be alone…” she winced. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I’m so needy. Damn it.” She shook her hands out, anxiety doing its unsavory worst and feeding all her insecurities. 

“Rey, stop.” He slid his free arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. For some reason she let him. “It’s okay. We’ve all got something.” 

She wasn’t used to this. Another person comforting her in the middle of an attack. Normally she was alone. It always happened when she was alone. Rey pressed her forehead to his shoulder and rested her hands on his waist. His flannel shirt was soft against her skin. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. 

Ben’s arm tightened just a bit, drawing her further into his embrace. She didn’t mind. “I write poetry.” His voice was low and close to her ear. 

Rey smiled. Poetry.

“About what?”

“About everything.”

“Will you… will you read me some?”

There was a pause. “Yes.”

****

“They’re amazing,” Rey said. Ben had just finished reciting a few of his works, using a battery-operated emergency lamp. He’d also lit a few candles and stoked the fire in the stove. Altogether there was enough light now that Rey didn’t feel as anxious. All the same, she was sitting close beside him. He had the lamp, after all and Rey had no interest in being further away from it than necessary. Or maybe it was him she didn’t want to be parted from. She didn’t want to think about it too hard. “Are you published?”

The lamp revealed a blush. “I don’t write for that.”

“Nor should you. But they’re truly beautiful, Ben.” Rey tried to put as much earnestness in her voice as possible. “You should be recognized for them. Something to think about.”

“Yeah, maybe.” He shrugged.

Rey could listen to him read his poems all night, but she wanted to know more about _him._ The strange, large flannel-wearing poet who lived on a generator in the mountains. “What did you do before living here?”

“I, uh, I was in the military.” He cleared his throat. “Retired a couple of years ago.”

That might explain why he wanted to be so far away from civilization. And the gun. And the scar. But the fact also deepened the enigma.

“What branch?”

“I…” he paused and pressed his lips together. “Marines.”

Rey got the sense he didn’t want to talk about whatever those experiences were. So she didn’t press, even though she wanted to. She understood wanting to keep certain parts of yourself a secret. “I guess it makes sense you wanted some peace and quiet, then. And, wow, you found the perfect place.” 

He huffed out a soft laugh. “Yeah, I guess. What about you?” he tilted his head to the side. “Rey. Who are you? What’s your story?”

The question was deep and inane at the same time. “I’m a small town girl living in a lonely world,” she replied and he snorted. “I don’t really have a story.” 

“Everyone has a story.” 

Rey rolled her eyes. “Spoken like a true author.”

“Hm. You’re avoiding.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned a little bit away fromhim, defensive. “Your life, from what I can tell, is about avoiding literally everything.”

He gave a nod. “I’m not avoiding anything. You are.”

Now he was just insulting her. “You don’t know me well enough to say that.”

A muscle under Ben’s left eye twitched. “Yeah. You’re right.” 

He didn’t apologize, only looked her in the eye, as if he could see right through her. Could read her thoughts. 

“Stop looking at me like that.”

Ben obediently averted his eyes, looking instead at his poetry notebook. Rey felt a little bad for snapping at him. He may have been a little rude but she hadn’t needed to be rude back. She was going to apologize when he spoke again. 

“I was in covert ops,” he said quietly. “I did… I was a part of things that I can’t talk about and wouldn’t talk about even if I could.” Rey hadn’t excepted the sudden candor and certainly hadn’t expected the content. “We all have something we want to run from,” he continued. He didn’t raise his eyes but his voice was steady. “That we want to hide from.”

“Is that what you’re doing out here?” she interjected. “Hiding?”

“No.”

“How so?” 

“The quiet helps me think. I write to verbalize those thoughts. I read. I write about what I read. Then I write about what happened. Those notebooks aren’t for anyone but me, though.” He sighed. “That’s my burden.”

Rey wet her lips and took a deep breath. He’d shared. A lot. She didn’t know why. But for some reason she wanted to reciprocate. Maybe she felt she owed him. She pulled her knees up and sat cross legged on the couch, folding her hands together tightly in her lap.

“I’m a middle-school teacher. For high-risk kids. I was one, once.” She swallowed past her racing heart, which seemed to have jumped into her throat. “I’m claustrophobic because, as a kid, I was in foster care. I had… I lived with someone who - as a punishment - would lock me in a closet. In the dark. For hours. Sometimes a whole day. I ran away a lot. And ended up in the closet a lot.” 

She winced at the silence that followed; that usually followed after she revealed that part of her past. It wasn’t something she normally told someone the first time she met them. Even Rose hadn’t found out until two years after Rey had met her. But with Ben it was, not exactly easy, but like she was _supposed_ to. Like he was meant to hear it just like this.

When she gained the courage to look at Ben and gauge his reaction, she saw he was still. Barely even seemed to be breathing. But his hands were curled into tight fists. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, a thickness to her voice she wished wasn’t there. Crying wouldn’t help the awkwardness go away. “That’s a lot to lay on somebody. I mean, it’s not like ‘oh I had a dog and he died’. It’s… yeah, I’m sor-”

A large hand covered both of hers.

“Stop.” 

Rey shivered and swallowed. He slipped his hand between hers and she closed around it tightly. 

“You don’t need to be sorry,” he said. “Never for that.”

She released a shaky breath and nodded, looking at him. The sincerity - the _caring_ \- in his expression took her breath away. “Thank you.” She focused on their clasped hands and huffed a laugh. “You know, I’m never this deep with strangers.” 

“I guess I must be special, huh?” She heard the smile in his voice and raised her eyes to his. 

“Yes, I think you are,” she murmured. A heaviness fell into the room that had nothing to do with the humid storm and everything with the way Ben was looking at her. Even though it was dim she could still make out how his eyes dropped to her lips and without much forethought she leaned in. Their lips met in a brief, gentle touch but Rey was sure just from that she wanted more.

“Do you usually kiss people the first time you meet them?” he asked softly, their faces still close. She shook her head. 

“Never.”

He nodded before he kissed her again with more heat, tugging her close, and Rey pressed her palms to his cheeks, holding him to her. 

It seemed right, somehow, to have him hold her like this. To have his lips on hers and on her cheeks and throat; his hands at all the right places, leaving fire in their wake. It seemed like he was the only one who should.Like it was the most natural thing in the world even though they’d only known each other mere hours.

She hoped in the morning he wouldn’t regret it. She knew she wouldn’t. If anything, she hoped there’d be more. More kisses, more days, more nights with him. More time to learn about him and for him to learn about her. 

Maybe fate had finally - finally - decided to be kind.

As it happened, that was exactly what fate had in store. 


End file.
